Definitely, a topic that is on the heavier side than what I planned, that’s for sure.
Recently, my interests are towards the translated novels, majorly Chinese, with same repeating common misguidance happening on and on. For example, the issue with virginity, novels make it seem like if you are not a virgin, you are used goods. Or in BLs, saying “no” never means “no”, it is obviously -insert sarcasm here- heavy “yes please continue”.
My rant will be on a bit of complaining about the novels I am currently reading. My complaints about them don’t mean they are bad novels, but simply, the viewpoint is all wrong in some.
For starters, The Beautiful Wife of Whirlwind Marriage. Just from the name alone, you would know some shit is going on in that novel. In the novel, not also “no” is not a “no”, it is also perfectly normal to get disgusted after people who do not have virginity or people who get plastic surgery. I understand both of them to have the mentality of old times, but I wished at least the younger generation who are writing the novels would try to change that mentality. In the novel we have an older male with a younger female, which is logical after all Chinese culture tends to call old yet successful males “Golden Bachelors”, but old and successful females as “Withered/Unwanted Goods”. But, I wished this stayed as something old generation said, and did not wanted to read these in a novel.
Continuing, issue of r*pe, in most novels, it is seen as a starter of “romance”, which I guess writers have a fantasy of developing some kind of weird love. If such thing were to happen in real life, for example, actually I don’t even need to give an example, literally Novel Updates r*pe tag, all of them are same, literally all filled with weird fantasies about it. Like this, or this, or this, or this, the list goes on. Worst is, all of the examples I gave have a very high ranking. I can excuse the author for being stupid or silly, but I am really judging who can give full marks on a story starts with “male lead and female lead are trapped in a coffin, female lead hits aphrodisiac accidentally (in coffin because fck logic) and female lead is to blame, because a male cannot hold themselves”. It is literally the same logic as some a-holes thinking it is ok to touch without permission because you wore a skirt, you “asked for it” because being a decent person is impossible.
For BL situation goes even worse. Take all of the above, multiply with 5, here, you have a BL novel.
Not to be +18;
Lube? What is that, manly man use spit and suffer instead!
Consent? Can it be eaten?
Love? Just have s*x, it is bound to come sooner or later.
Couples in real life switch, but my novel? Nope, one of them is the “girl” other is the “boy” because I never saw a real couple in life, and these are my fantasies only!
Solving problems in relationships with talking? NOPE just have s,*x everything will pass.
Bringing blood during the act? Can’t be more natural!
Just these above are enough reason you should never take advice about relationship/bed life from novels. Take my advice, if you are going to have any kind of action, never, never take advice from novels; also c*ndoms exist for a reason, even between two males, you have to use them, cannot be more clear about it.
Now, I believe I managed to bring out the frustrations I have for these novels, one last complaint.
If I have to read any more China propaganda in a novel, I will honestly scream. I don’t mind once a while, after all, it is author’s choice, but honestly, who would like to read “the best country in the world, MC is revered and loved because they are from here and those blue-eyed blonde freaks all worship them” line.
To finish it off, novels I read seriously lack any kind of complexity, things are either way too simplistic, or way too stereotypical. I can just hope these are not the authors’ real feelings.